In recent years, advances in technology, as well as ever evolving tastes in style, have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. One of the changes involves the complexity of the electrical systems within automobiles, particularly alternative fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles. Such alternative fuel vehicles typically use an electric motor, perhaps in combination with another actuator, to drive the wheels.
These types of vehicles can offer significant improvements in efficiency. There remains, however, an ever present need to improve the efficiency of electric motor drives to reduce power losses, improve battery life, and increase range. Additionally, it is generally desirable to reduce the noise generated from the automobile. Unfortunately, some techniques for reducing power losses in the electric motor system can increase acoustic noise emissions beyond acceptable levels.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a control method that reduces power losses and increases the efficiency of electric motors in automobiles, without excessively increasing the acoustic noise generated by the electrical motor. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.